Officiating First Draft Pick As Aquis Announces 2024 Fees

Officiating

Queensland’s leading stallion operation, Aquis Stallions, has revealed its roster for the 2024 season.

Aquis Stallions who have launched the careers of some of Australia’s most promising stallions PIERATA, BRAVE SMASH and ROYAL MEETING now announces its new stallion development opportunity in the three-time US Group winner, Officiating.

A complete outcross, deliberately selected by Aquis Stallions following a global headhunting mission to secure a stallion that will excel with the local Queensland broodmare population, with a particular focus on mares by Spirit of Boom, Better Than Ready and Spill The Beans amongst the wider pool of Danehill heavy Queensland mares.

Officiating is the first son of the North American super sire, Blame, to stand in Australia. An Eclipse Champion Racehorse, Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, and three-time Group 1 winner, Blame is an elite stallion who runs at 14% stakes horses to runners as both a sire and a broodmare sire.

Officiating was a racehorse for all seasons, excelling on fast and heavy surfaces with four of his five career victories at stakes level. Officiating would capture the Group 3 Cornhusker at his penultimate outing making it his third high class Group win before farewelling the track in the US$1million Group 2 Charles Town Classic, finishing a neck fourth behind Art Collector, the winner of the Group 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes. This is proper, fast, tough form on the world stage.

“We got our man!” Aquis Stallions Director of Sales, Jonathan Davies enthused. “In a deal we spent most of 2023 putting together in the USA, Officiating is perfect for our local broodmare population, that’s why he’s here and we’ve already seen a glimpse of that through this season’s Group 2 Todman Stakes winner Switzerland being by Snitzel out of a Blame mare”.

“For us, launching stallions and developing value for our stallion shareholders is what it’s about and like Brave Smash and Royal Meeting, Officiating is that tough, sound, outcross stallion that will work and we have no doubt in four to five years’ time he will be sought by all the big studs in the Hunter Valley and Victoria.

Officiating will stand his first season at Aquis Stallions at a fee of $12,500 inc GST.

Officiating is part of an 8-strong Aquis roster in 2024, which is headed by one of Australia’s leading 2-year-old sires Kobayashi.

Please contact our sales team at Aquis Stallions for more information or to arrange a private viewing of our new stallion Officiating or any of the 2024 stallions.

  • Jonathan Davies (Director of Sales) – 0423 033 858
  • Paul Knight (Business Development Manager) – 0410 683 469
  • Penelope Crowley (Nominations) – 0427 857 788

 

2024 Aquis Stallion Roster

 

Stallion Name 2024 Fee
(inc GST)
Kobayashi $15,000
Lean Mean Machine $13,200
Jonker $12,500
Officiating (USA) (NEW) $12,500
Stronger $9,900
Invader $8,800
Glenfiddich $5,500
The Mission $4,400

AQUIS STALLIONS ANNOUNCE STRONGER 2023 ROSTER

Aquis Stallions has today announced their 7-strong stallion line up for the coming spring.

Headlining the Stronger than ever team is the Group 1 winning sprinter, Jonker ($16,500 fee), who covered a superb book of mares for his first season in 2022. A son of the hugely popular Spirit of Boom, Jonker was the fastest male winner of the Gr.1 Manikato Stakes (faster than Redoute’s Choice, Rebel Dane, Sepoy etc..) and his brilliant speed also saw him smash Champion Sprinter, Takeover Target’s 1200m track record.

He’ll be joined in 2023 by son of Champion sire Not A Single Doubt, Stronger ($13,750 fee), a Group 1 winning speedster in Hong Kong and Group winner in Australia at 2.

Both Jonker and Stronger will be joined by the proven Group 1 stallion Invader and up-and-coming sires Kobayashi and The Mission both of whom have enjoyed an incredibly successful twelve months on the track. While Lean Mean Machine – who’s oldest progeny (two-year-olds) are impressing trainers around the country, and the charismatic, good-looking son of Fastnet Rock, Glenfiddich rounds out a strong rooster for 2023.

“We are incredibly excited for the season ahead, we are spearheaded by two good looking proper Group 1 sprinters, both by proven, colonial, speed stallions. We cannot wait for breeders to feast their eyes on Stronger and see Jonkers first foals galloping around paddocks across Australia,” Aquis Farm Director of Sales, Jonathan Davies enthused.

“Jonker covered the best book of mares a first season stallion has covered on this farm. Prudent breeders will of course note that and breeding to Jonker this season will prove an astute move. With the service fee increase to his sire Spirit of Boom, at his fee, Jonker is an attractive option for breeders looking to tap into the sire line,” added Davies.

Like Jonker, Fastnet Rock’s Gr.2 Bill Stutt winner (and Gr.1 Champagne Stakes runner up), Glenfiddich ($8,800 fee) was well received in his first year, while Lean Mean Machine ($13,200 fee) is off to a promising start with trainers predicting progeny will emulate their sire’s Group 2 winning form at 3.

Snitzel’s Group 1 winning 2YO, Invader ($11,000 fee), became the first of the current crop of Second Season Sires to produce a Group 1 winner with Sunshine In Paris winning the Surround Stakes and fellow 2YO stakes winner – the I Am Invincible sire, Kobayashi ($8,800 fee) – has a number of outstanding types coming through, including lightning quick 2YO, Mishani Royale, who has won her last four starts and led home the quinella for her sire in the $500,000 QTIS Jewel.

And the best value for money QTIS stallion, The Mission ($8,800 fee), boasts a higher average earnings index than leading Second Season Sires Russian Revolution and Hellbent. A Group 1 winning 2YO who was Champion Queensland First Season Sire in 2021/22 by winners and earnings and is again the state’s current leading Second Season Sire.

Please contact our sales team at Aquis Stallions for more information or to arrange a private viewing of our new stallion Stronger or any of the 2023 stallions.

  • Jonathan Davies (Director of Sales) – 0423 033 858
  • Paul Knight (Business Development Manager) – 0410 683 469
  • Penelope Crowley (Nominations) – 0427 857 788

 

2023 Aquis Stallion Roster

 

Stallion Name 2023 Fee (inc GST)
Jonker 16,500
Stronger (NEW) 13,750
Lean Mean Machine 13,200
Invader 11,000
Glenfiddich 8,800
Kobayashi 8,800
The Mission 8,800

 

ANZ Bloodstock: Aquis farm secure ‘untapped’ takent Glenfiddich for stud duties in Queensland

Glenfiddich - Stutt Stakes (Steve Hart)

From ANZ Bloodstock: Aquis Farm has announced their second new stallion to join their Canungra-based roster in the space of a week, with the high-class but untapped Group 2 winner and ATC Champagne Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) runner-up Glenfiddich (Fastnet Rock) set to stand the coming breeding season for an introductory fee of $8,800 (all fees inc. GST).

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GLENFIDDICH TO STAND AT AQUIS

Glenfiddich - Stutt Stakes (Steve Hart)

Aquis Farm is thrilled to announce that Glennfiddich, the Group 2 winning son of Champion Sire, Fastnet Rock, will stand at their Canungra based farm this season.

A brilliant 2YO who would ultimately finish a nose second in the Gr.1 Champagne Stakes, Glenfiddich resumed at three with a third in the Gr.1 Memsie before capturing the Gr.2 Bill Stutt Stakes over 1600m at Moonee Valley.

“We couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to stand a stallion of this calibre,” Aquis Director of Sales, Jonathan Davies, said. “Glenfiddich is an outstanding athlete and breeders love a horse that showed so much precocity yet could mature and take it up to the best of them over a mile. And he’s by Fastnet Rock!”

Competing at black type level at all but two of his career starts (five of the final six at Group 1), Glenfiddich competed against the elite sprinter/milers in Australia.

Thrown in at the deep end from day one, Glenfiddich’s juvenile highlights included a second to Hanseatic in the Listed Blue Diamond Preview, a lip second in the Magic Millions Adelaide 2YO Classic, a three-length demolition in the Mornington Sires’ and, in his final start at two, run a nose second to multiple Group 1 winner, King’s Legacy, in the Champagne Stakes.

“Glenfiddich always raced against top company,” Davies adds. “He split King’s Legacy and Ole Kirk in the Champagne and the latter went on to win a Golden Rose and Caulfield Guineas. First up at three Glenfiddich ran third behind 3-time Group 1 winner, Behemoth, and Derby winner, Mr Quickie, in the Gr.1 Memsie with a lot of good horses in his wake that day.”

Glenfiddich would then capture the Bill Stutt Stakes and emulate sire greats such as Pierro, Encosta De Lago, Canny Lad and Zabeel by taking out the prestigious Group 2.

Spreadeagling his opposition in the Stutt, the beaten brigade included 4-time stakes winner Cherry Tortoni and Australian Guineas winner, Lunar Fox.

Glenfiddich is by multiple Champion Australian Sire and major stallion influence, Fastnet Rock (185 stakes winners), whose sire sons include Foxwedge, Hinchinbrook and Smart Missile.

Indeed, Fastnet Rock is a major influence in this well-related pedigree given that he is also the sire of Glenfiddich’s close relations Eleven Eleven (winner of $2.9 million in prizemoney) and Gr.1 Doomben Cup winner, Comin’ Through. Other members of this power packed family include the 4-time Group 1 winner, Criterion.

Glenfiddich was bred by (and part-owned by) Ian Smith’s Edinburgh Park Stud and carries the familiar IKS brand.

“We always had a lot of confidence in Glenfiddich and it’s not hard to work out why; he’s such a lovely type of horse, with a great temperament and that family has worked so well for us,” Smith said. “There’s something like 10 stakes horses alone in the second dam, while others on the page represent some of the best racehorses we’ve seen on Australian tracks over the last decade or so.

“Edinburgh Park was very happy to retain a share in Glenfiddich after the yearling sale and we’re ecstatic that he’s heading to Aquis Farm where he will get every opportunity to succeed. The owners and I will be supporting him with some nice mares,” concluded Smith.

Glenfiddich will stand at a fee of $8,800. Please contact Jonathan Davies on 0423 033 858 or the team at Aquis Farm to schedule a private viewing.